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  • Chicago Cubs Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest Chicago Cubs free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Matthew Lenz
    With the seventh best odds to win the World Series, per Fangrpahs, it's no secret the Chicago Cubs are going to be buyers at the trade deadline.
    On Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Cubs are "canvassing the market" for  starting pitcher.
    The Cubs current rotation rank in the bottom third of baseball with a 4.32 ERA and a 4.47 FIP and a lowly 14.4% strikeout-minus-walk rate. Some of that poor production can be attributed to injuries as Shota Imanaga (returning Thursday), Javier Assad, and Justin Steele. Just earlier this week, the club sent Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa to rediscover some of the early season success he was having.
    Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera are big names on the market that will come with a heavy price. Who else should the Cubs kick the tires on? Join the conversation in the comments!
    Matthew Lenz
    The Chicago Cubs have optioned starting pitcher Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa to make room for reliever Porter Hodge who is returning from an oblique injury.
    Brown, 26, has struggled this season churning out a 6.13 ERA, 4.08 FIP, albeit with a decent 17.8% strikeout-minus-walk (K-BB) rate. After a solid start to the season, he seems to benefit from a bit of a reset with the Iowa Cubs. The move paves the way for the anticipated return of Shota Imanaga on Thursday.
    Hodge, 24, has also struggled with the big-league club with a 5.12 ERA, 4.16 FIP, and a lowly 9.5% K-BB rate due to control issues. He will likely slot in as a low- to medium- leverage option out of the Cubs' bullpen.
    Matthew Lenz
    The Chicago Cubs have recalled Nate Pearson from Triple-A Iowa. The right-handed reliever will likely cover low- to medium-leverage situations out of the Cubs' bullpen.
    This is Pearson's second stint with the big-league club. After producing a 10.38 ERA in his first eight appearances, he was optioned to Iowa in mid-April.
    In 24 1/3 innings for the Iowa Cubs, Pearson carried an impressive 2.22 ERA, 3.94 FIP, though with an extremely high walk rate. Control was something he has always struggled with and has been the reason he hasn't been able to reach his ceiling as an effective high-leverage reliever.
    Do you think the Cubs should address the bullpen at the trade deadline?
    Matthew Trueblood
    Let's be honest here. Maybe Vidal Bruján is a trifle more broadly talented than Emmanuel Rivera, but in practice, he's a worse player—especially for the current Chicago Cubs. The Cubs need a righty batter who can occasionally work their way on base without being deployed as a pinch-runner, and one who can capably handle the hot corner with the glove. Much though all Cubs fans wish that either Bruján or Jon Berti met those descriptions, right now, they don't.
    Emmanuel Rivera does, though. Rivera, who turns 29 at the end of this month, has hit just .232/.302/.275 for the Orioles this season, so it's hard to fault them for designating him for assignment. However, that's against a career line of .243/.306/.363—no star slugger's line, but a fine one for a solid defensive infielder off the bench. That's precisely what Rivera is. He's been worth 5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) even in very limited action for the Orioles at third this year. He can also play some first base. Against lefties, he's a career .254/.318/.381 hitter, much better than what Bruján can offer as a backup to Matt Shaw at third base.
    Rivera is a good floor to reset for third base. The Cubs should be able to acquire him for cash, and if the front office is smart, they'll place a quick call to Mike Elias in the wake of this news.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer recently appeared with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post to talk about the Cubs and the trade deadline.
    After shedding some New York tears over the Pete Crow-Armstrong trade, Heyman and Sherman ask Hoyer about a potential Kyle Tucker extension, which Hoyer deflects as something most likely to happen after the season.
    Hoyer talks about the Cubs' desire to add pitching at the deadline, referring to it as "not a secret". He comments that Chicago will be in the market for both starters and relievers, reinforcing his general belief that a major league bullpen is a work in progress throughout the season.
    See the interview below: 
    Matthew Lenz
    On a recent podcast, David Kaplan of ESPN1000 was quoted as saying, "I’m hearing that the [Chicago] Cubs have wrapped their brain around, doesn’t mean he’ll accept it, wrapped thier brain around whatever it costs we’re paying it and they want to keep [Kyle] Tucker, that’s what I’m hearing”
    When the Cubs acquired Tucker, it was under the assumption that the two sides could reach a long-term agreement. To this point, the two sides have had discussions but obviously nothing has come to fruition. Tucker is currently sent to reach free agency at season's end ahead of his age-29 season.
    The superstar has been well worth the trade costs as he's accrued 1.5 fWAR in the first month of the season. He's slashing .289/.397/.579 with seven home runs and 25 runs scored and runs batted in while adding eight stolen bases and strong defense.
    How much do you think the Chicago Cubs should hand over to Kyle Tucker?
    Matthew Lenz
    The Chicago Cubs rotation took a big hit when their ace suffered a season ending injury to his throwing elbow and forearm. Here at NSBB, we speculated on five external options that the team could pursue to replace Steele at the top of the rotation. However, earlier this week Patrick Mooney of The Athletic that the team would be pursuing internal options (for now).
    Within the report, Steele's rotation mate Matthew Boyd was quoted as saying "We have a very talented rotation. We have guys that can step up and perform in those roles. We’re excited for that." Aside from sounding like he has a future in an organization's front office, Boyd emphasizes that the team has the "next man up mentality". 

    Currently, Colin Rea looks to be the fill-in although Javier Assad may be the more permanent solution. Assad is reportedly close to returning and appears to be the initial predecessor for the job given the Cubs four off days between today (Thursday, April 17th and April 28th).
    Mooney goes on to report that Cade Horton, the Cubs no. 7 pick in the 2022 draft and one of the team's top prospects,  is one arm to keep an eye on. The 24-year-old right hander does have injury concerns, though his "staff and athleticism" has "wowed" Cubs official leading them to use such high draft capital on the Oklahoma product. In three Triple-A starts, he has 16.7% K-BB rate and a 4.11 FIP due to command issues across 12 1/3 innings.
    If those options don't pan out or if more injuries strike, Mooney points to the depth of hitting prospects that could be packaged to swing a blockbuster deal.
    If you're in the Cubs front office, how are you trying to replace Justin Steele?
    Matthew Lenz
    The Chicago Cubs acquired Kyle Tucker with the expectation being they could extend the superstar outfielder. While nothing has come to fruition, Hector Gomez is reporting that there is a potential deal on the table.
    https://x.com/hgomez27/status/1911207956005220426?s=46&t=W3bjFFhKBgsnZF2kQS6WJg
     
    Tucker is off to a torrid start this season with the Cubs slashing .317/.442/.667 with 5 home runs. The 28-year-old has already accrued 1.1 fWAR on the season.
    Matthew Lenz
    Building off a previous report, Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletics are reporting that the Chicago Cubs are keeping pitchers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn on their radars despite their rotation being relatively healthy at the moment.
    They also mention that the Cubs kicked the tires on Andrew Heaney before he agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they go on to suggest that a move could be made following their trip to Japan.
    While it's presumed the two veterans are staying in shape in hopes of signing with a big-league club, it's not a guarantee that either would be game ready by Opening Day. This is prompting "some clubs" (the Cubs weren't specifically named) to ask pitchers to sign a 45-day-advance-consent form, which allows a team to terminate the contract in the first 45 days for any reason except injury and only pay them for the time spent on the roster.
    While the Cubs rotation is currently looking solid, you can never have enough pitching. Should they add one of Gibson or Lynn for added depth in a position group that is the most valuable asset in the sport? Join the conversation in the comments!
    Bertz
    This spring the Chicago Cubs have not been immune to the pitching injury bug that plagues baseball every March.  Thankfully to this point they have not been among the teams hardest hit.  Despite that, reporting tonight out of The Athletic indicates that Jed Hoyer is still active on the market for starting pitching:
    It's not totally clear how much of this is laying groundwork in case an injury arises versus how much the team is intent to add a starter even as things currently stand.  The Athletic also reports that the team had an offer out to Andrew Heaney before he signed with Pittsburgh, though he theoretically could have been a fit in the bullpen as well.  NorthsideBaseball's own Matthew Trueblood also reported last month that Hoyer was still talking with the Padres hoping to land Dylan Cease, so bigger game may be on the table if it's available.
    Bertz
    The rumor du jour the last two weeks in Cubs land has been Alex Bregman.  We finally have an indication of what the team's backup plan is if he chooses to go elsewhere.  Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney indicate tonight the team is eying the aged Justin Turner.
    After the Cody Bellinger and Matt Mervis trades, the Cubs' roster is very thin at first base behind starter Michael Busch. Matt Trueblood wrote about the issue earlier today.  Turner would give the time a far more viable backup than they have on hand currently.
    Turner is mostly a 1B/DH at this point in his career, so while his Baseball-Reference page says "Third Basemen" he would not be a threat to block Matt Shaw unless things went very very wrong for the rookie.  Turner would likely play 1B and DH primarily, and get just a smattering of playing time at 2nd and 3rd.
    Matthew Lenz
    The Chicago Cubs have had a pretty busy and solid offseason highlighted acquiring Kyle Tucker and more recently high-leverage reliever Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros. While it was suggested earlier this week that they're not done supplementing the bullpen, Jon Morosi has some more intriguing hot stove fodder related to their starting rotation.
    Cease, who is just 29-years-old and has two top-4 Cy Young seasons under his belt, has recently been the subject of trade rumors as the San Diego Padres look to get below the luxury tax threshold amid a lawsuit between family members of late owner Peter Seidler. The right-handed ace has just one year left of arbitration making him an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
    While the Cubs don't have a shortage of arms, Cease would undoubtedly create an extremely formidable 1-2-3 punch with Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele. If the Cubs acquired the zero time all-star (how is that possible????), they would assuredly be up there with the Los Angeles Dodgers as having one of the best and deepest rotations in baseball.
    Given the Padres preference to shed some salary but also remain competitive, the deal would likely require another big-league starter who's in their pre-arbitration years plus additional pieces. The Cubs also have depth in the outfield, but the only players who fit the bill would be Pete Crow-Armstrong, and to a lesser extent Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara.
    What do you think a deal for Dylan Cease looks like for the Cubs?
    Bertz
    While there is always room for potential improvement, after adding Ryan Pressly and Jon Berti over the last week the Cubs' roster is looking reasonably complete.  Jed Hoyer's offseason appears far from done however.  The Cubs currently sit approximately $34M below the first Luxury Tax level according to Roster Resource, and Tom Ricketts confirmed he expects payroll to end up in that vicinity.  Even if the team views the Luxury Tax line as a hard (self imposed) cap, they can add as much as $25M in salary and still leave buffer for mid-season maneuvering.  
    According to a staff report from The Athletic, the Cubs are trying to take full advantage of their current position in the market:
    This would likely explain why rumors are all over the place right now.  The team has been tied to Alex Bregman, David Robertson, and Michael King just in the short time since the Ryan Pressly trade was completed.  
    With the aforementioned payroll flexibility as well as seven players on MLB Pipeline's recent Top 100 Prospect lists, the Cubs can plausibly land any player currently available.  So expect additional moves from here, and whether it's genuine interest or another party trying to drum up leverage expect to see the Cubs included in a variety of rumors as well.
    Matthew Lenz
    The Cubs finally acquired Ryan Pressly assumedly making him the team's closer given years of late-inning success. Just a couple days removed from that trade, multiple outlets are reporting that the Cubs "aren't done" adding to the bullpen. Bruce Levine in an appearance on 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh Show, Meaghan Montemurro ($$) of the Chicago Tribune, and Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma ($$) of The Athletic all either implied or flat out stated that they weren't done after Pressly.
    Ryne Stanek and David Robertson are two names in particular that have been tied to the North Siders. 
     
    Would Stanek or Robertson move the needle for you or would you like the Cubs to go after another big arm?
    Matthew Lenz
    Jon Heyman of the NY Post is reporting that the Chicago Cubs (along with the Houston Astros) are showing significant interest in third basemen Alex Bregman. He also identifies the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox are "among others involved".
    That comes off the heels of a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Sports that "at least three teams have offered Bregman a deal of five years or longer". It seems as though, if the Cubs are truly interested, they're going to have field a very competitive offer for the two-time All-Star and World Series champion.
    Currently, the Cubs' hot corner is up for grabs as FanGraphs Roster Resource has top prospect Matt Shaw penciled into the starting lineup. Bregman, a gold glove winner, would obviously be another great get for a team that already added former Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.
    How much and for how long are you willing to pay for Bregman's services?
    Matthew Lenz
    The Ryan Pressly sweepstakes is turning into a bit of a hard-to-follow saga. Yesterday, in a tweet that has since been deleted, MLB Trade Rumors said that the Cubs were "on the verge" of acquiring Pressly.
    Chandler Rome of The Athletic was quick to point out that the two-time All Star had not yet waived his no-trade clause. In a separate update, multiple writers from The Athletic stated that the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and a "mystery west coast team" were all interested in the 2022 World Series Champion's services.
    In yet another twist, this morning we got this nugget form Jim Heyman of the NY Post.
    So the good news is that, of the teams reportedly showing interest, the Cubs are the only ones still in the running. That said, it's currently unclear whether he'll waive his NTC to join the North Siders.
    If he does waive his NTC, what are you comfortable giving up to obtain his services?
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